Brand New Day

My Best Friend's Wedding

This past weekend I had the opportunity to witness the marriage of my roommate, Anna, to her new husband, Jon Heisterkamp.  It was such an eventful and exciting day for everyone.  I was able to take the getting ready photos of the bride and her bridemaids as well as any little detail that I could spot throughout the day.  This is the first time I had ever done this and I had agreed to do this the night before the wedding.  After sorting through the couple thousand photos that I had taken during Rehearsal and Wedding Day, these are my favorites:

The beautiful bride, Anna, getting ready for the big day.

Kristin, Anna's older sister and maid of honor, puts the finishing touches on the gown.

During the Fall 2012 semester of college, Jon was living at home in Iowa while Anna was finishing up her final semester at BBC in PA. He created a paper link chain counting down until the wedding day. Each link had something pertaining to their relationship. Here she is reading the final link.

Wiping away some lipstick that was left behind after the first kiss as husband and wife.

The bride had gone out to thrift stores and bought boxes of mix-match China that served as the place settings

Adding a modern touch to the wedding day was having their own hastag on Instagram: #theheisterkampwedding

Caught this sweet picture while the lovely couple was greeting their guests.

Such an amazing couple that God has joined together on this exciting day! I cannot wait to see what God does with the new Mr. & Mrs. Heisterkamp!

Possibility or Reality

This morning was an exceptionally challenging message from a missionary couple that is raising support to serve in Germany beginning next month.  Richard and Julia Rudolph presented to my church this question:

"Are you living as if the Resurrection is a

Possibility or Reality?"

You see, Christians all too often settle into our comfort zones and we all too often forget about the Resurrection.  But the Resurrection is part of the Good News.  Christ conquered death by rising on the third day.  I too often forget this.  1 Corinthians 15 shows us that if we are living as if the Resurrection were just a possibility, then we can "eat and drink, for tomorrow we die." type of attitude (v.32).  We are settled into our comfort zones.  We do not wish to stretch out of what we like.  But the Gospel tells us that we must.  We must do things that we do not like.  What we are not comfortable with.  Later down, verses 54b-58 state, "Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain."  Believers have this steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord swag about them, but they never use it.  

So whomever might be reading this, I want to change you with this: Are you living as if the Resurrection is just a possibility or reality?

A Crowded Mind

Most of you know, I had the opportunity to attend Passion Conference in Atlanta, GA with about 60,000 other college age students during the first few days of the new year. It is an amazing opportunity to experience Passion.  If you are interested, check out the site: http://www.268generation.com/3.0/.  So at this conference, Louie Giglio states at the end of his first message

"Sin does not make us bad.

Sin makes us DEAD."

Man does that hit home every time I read it. And I read it often. I have it on a Post-It on my desk so that I have to read it every day.  All too often I'm given this reminder.  Sin does not make us bad. Sin makes us dead.  Spiritually dead.  Hard and calloused toward what God would like to teach us.  Being constantly reminded of my sin makes me more grateful for the sacrifice of my Savior.  He was perfect. He was sinless. He bore my sins when He hung on the Cross. But while He was on the Cross, He declared "It is finished." These three words are the other phrase that are continually in the forefront of my mind.  Not only this, but He died and rose again three days later. Conquering sin. Conquering death. 

Crown Him (Majesty)

Chris Tomlin ft. Kari Jobe

at Passion 2013